Pollination Crises in the Agroecosystems

Transcription

1 4 Pollination Crises in the Agroecosystems of the Tropics Challenges and Way Forward Parthiba Basu, Ritam Bhattacharya and Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Pollination Crises in The Tropics Looking for Evidences of Pollination Limitation Analysing The Crises in The Developing Countries Varying Vulnerabilities Way Forward Acknowledgement Endnotes References G. Poyyamoli (ed.), Agroecology, Ecosystems, and Sustainability in the Tropics Studera Press, 2017

2 90 Agroecology, Ecosystems, and Sustainability in the Tropics ABSTRACT KEYWORDS About 70 per cent of common agricultural crops grown by a vast majority of subsistence farmers across the tropics are directly dependent on pollination services in varying extents. Pollinating insects play a major role in delivering the pollination service. Among them the bees- both domesticated and wild, are the primary pollinators of most agricultural crops. This paper describes the root causes for the decline in pollinating insects with a note on their impact on pollination services. It also suggests how we can overcome such pollination crisis. Subsistence Farmers, Tropics, Pollinating Insects, Pollinator Loss, Pollination Services, Pollination Crisis POLLINATION CRISES IN THE TROPICS About 70 per cent of common agricultural crops, grown by a vast majority of subsistence farmers across the tropical world, are directly dependent on pollination services in varying extents. Pollinating insects play a major role in delivering the pollination service and among them the bees both domesticated and wild are the primary pollinators of most agricultural crops (Potts et al. 2010). However, there has been a rising concern about the decline in pollinating insects across the globe (Potts et al. 2010; Kearns et al. 1998; Kremen et al. 2002; Klein et al. 2007; Bismeijer 2006). The first sign of the threat to the pollinating insects came to the fore with the colony collapse disorder in 2006 and 2007 in the US where there was large scale mortality of the managed European honey bees (Apis mellifera) (vanengelsdorp et al. 2009). Similar phenomenon was also observed in Europe (Potts et al. 2010). Since then a number of drivers of such loss has been proposed including an Asian invasive ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor (Potts et al. 2010). This catastrophic episodes of large scale losses of the managed honey bees prompted further closer scrutiny of the status of other pollinating insects including various wild bees and other honeybee species across the world and saving the pollinators has been a major conservation issue. The fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) highlighted the following to establish international initiatives1: Monitor pollinator decline, its causes and its impact on pollination services, Address the lack of taxonomic information on pollinators, Assess the economic value of pollination and the economic impact of the decline of pollination services, Promote the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of pollinator diversity in agriculture and related ecosystems. The Intergovernmental Panel of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) also initiated a major assessment to cover changes in animal pollination as a regulating ecosystem service

3

4 98 Agroecology, Ecosystems, and Sustainability in the Tropics ENDNOTES 1. html REFERENCES Aizen, M.A., L.A. Garibaldi, S.A. Cunningham and A.M. Klein Long-term global trends in crop yield and production reveal no current pollination shortage but increasing pollinator dependency. Current Biology, 18: Amweg, E. et al Use and toxicity of pyrethroid pesticides in the central valley, California, USA. Env. Toxicol. Chem., 24: Bismeijer, J.C. et al Parallel Declines in Pollinators and Insect-Pollinated Plants in Britain and the Netherlands. Science, 313: Blanche, K.R. et al Proximity to rainforest enhances pollination and fruit set in orchards. J. Appl. Ecol., 43: Chakrabarty, P., S. Rana, S. Sarkar et al Pesticide induced oxidative stress in laboratory and field populations of native honey bees along intensive agricultural landscapes in two Eastern Indian states. Apidologie, 46: Chakrabarty, P., S. Rana, S. Bandopadhyay et al Field populations of native Indian honey bees from pesticide intensive agricultural landscape show signs of impaired olfaction. Scientific Reports, 27(5): DOI: / srep FAO State of the world s forests. Rome: FAO. FAOSTAT Data available at faostat3.fao.org/home/e Jacobson, A. and J. Agren Distance to semi-natural grassland influences seed production of insect-pollinated herbs. Oecologia, 175: Kearns, C.A. et al Endangered mutualisms: the conservation of plantpollinator interactions. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 29: Kleijn, D. et al Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation. Nature Communication DOI: ms8414. Klein, M.A. et al Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proc. Royal Soc. of London (B), 274: Kleinschmit, J. and B. Lilliston Unknown benefits, Hidden costs: Neonicotinoid Seed Coatings, Crop Yields and Pollinators. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. nics_bl_jk.pdf. Kovács-Hostyánszki, A. et al. 2011a. Set-aside promotes insect and plant diversity in a Central European country. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 141: Kovács Hostyánszki, A., P. Batáry and A. Báldi. 2011b. Local and landscape effects on bee communities of Hungarian winter cereal fields. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 13:

5 Basu, Bhattacharya and Chakrabarti 99 Kremen, C. and L.K.M Gonigle Small-scale restoration in intensive agricultural landscapes supports more specialized and less mobile pollinator species. Journal of Applied Ecology, DOI: / Kremen, C. et al Crop pollination from native bees at risk from agricultural intensification. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 99: Morandin, L. and C. Kremen Hedgerow restoration promotes pollinator populations and exports native bees to adjacent fields. Ecological Applications, DOI: / Morandin, L.A. and M.L. Winston Pollinators provide economic incentive to preserve natural land in agroecosystems. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ., 116, Pauw, A. and J.A. Hawkins Reconstruction of historical pollination rates reveals linked declines of pollinators and plants. Oikos, 120: Potts, S.G. et al Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts and drivers. TREE, 25: Ricketts, T.H. et al Landscape effects on crop pollination services: are there general patterns? Ecol. Lett., 11: vanengelsdorp, D. et al Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study. PLoS ONE, 4: e6481. doi: / journal.pone Winfree, R. et al A meta-analysis of bees responses to anthropogenic disturbance. Ecology, 90: